Pneumatic tires and wheel rim assemblies

Abstract

A tire having a coating of a gelled non-volatile lubricating material disposed on at least the interior surface of the tread to facilitate relative movement between contacting portions of the interior surface of the tire when the tire is driven deflated. The coating is incapable of flowing away from the portion of the interior surface to which it is applied either under gravity or under the forces generated inside a tire during inflated running.

Description

This invention relates to a pneumatic tire capable of running to a useful extent even when the tire is deflated.

U.K. Pat. No. 1,359,468 describes and claims a pneumatic tire which, when mounted on a wheel rim for which it is designed and inflated to its normal working pressure, has an aspect ratio of between 30 and 75% and a tread portion whose width is greater than the width between the bead heels, having a coating of a lubricating material disposed on at least a portion of its interior surface to facilitate a relative movement between contacting portions of the interior surface of the tire when the tire is used in a deflated condition.

The tire thus described marked a new step forward in the field of safety tires. Hitherto many attempts had been made to provide an assembly which could cope with the problem of punctures to eliminate danger or vehicle immobilization; these earlier attempts being centred primarily around two approaches. One of these was to provide a safety member in the form of a second inflation chamber, special filling, or a rigid saddle onto which the tire was supported when deflated, and the other was to provide a puncture sealing layer on the inside of the tire to prevent the tire from becoming deflated. The problem of the latter approach is that unless the sealing layer is 100% efficient in preventing air-loss there is a danger that some air will be lost before the puncture seals, resulting in an under-inflated tire without the driver being aware that something was wrong. This, with a conventional tire, can be more dangerous than a puncture since extended running at high speed on an under-inflated tire is a prime cause of blow-outs on fast roads, and the necessary 100% efficiency is, in practice, a very elusive goal.

The concept of allowing a tire to run deflated without extra supports enables various other possibilities to be introduced. Thus in U.K. Pat. No. 1,359,467 the present applicants describe the use of a tire and wheel rim assembly with a liquid lubricant containing a volatile component and a puncture sealing material so that a puncture can be sealed and a low pressure generated in the tire by evaporation of the volatile liquid. The concept of puncture sealing by this means is developed further in U.K. Patent Application Nos. 20,502/72 and 40,823/72 (cognate) wherein the volatiles are enclosed and a gelled lubricant is coated on the tire interior, solid puncture sealing materials being carried by the gel. In this instance release of the volatiles when the tire deflates is followed by breakdown of the gel and mobilization of the puncture sealing materials to seek out and seal the puncture. Lubricant gels suitable for use in this system are described in U.K. Patent Application Nos. 40,824/72 and 52,342/74 and 34,509/75 (cognate).

It is to be appreciated that the purpose of the puncture sealing and vapour inflation in these instances is not to totally reinflate the tire but simply to provide a low inflation pressure of the order of 1 to 5 psi in the tire to reduce its deflection and thus the heat generated in running the tire without inflation pressure. This, of course, is a quite different problem from that of the puncture sealing layers and materials of past proposals, since the latter have failed if they allow the tire pressure to fall by more than a very few psi.

The present invention proposes athe volume of particulate solid material being at least 8% and no more than 66% of the total volume of said coating.

The gelled non-volatile lubricant may be formed from a wide range of classes of compounds which include lubricants for rubber to rubber interfaces, for example:

______________________________________ (i) Alcohols, monohydric e.g. n-octanol dihydric (diols, glycols) e.g. ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, and propylene glycol trihydric (triols) e.g. glycerol polyhydric (polyols) (ii) Polyalkylene glycols e.g. polythylene glycols and polypropylene (Generalised formula: glycols of various molecular weights ##STR1## where R, R.sup.1 and R.sup.11 are alkyl groups or H) (iii) Poly(alkylene oxides) e.g. copolymers of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide units available under the trade names "Ucon 50-HB-2000", "Ucon 50-HB-3520", "Ucon 50-HB-5100" and "Ucon 50-HB-250" ______________________________________

(iv) Polybutenes

Where the gelled lubricant comprises a poly(alkylene oxide) or modified poly(alkylene oxide) the gel may be made by any suitable methods, for instance the addition of finely divided fillers, especially those with colloidal dimensions (200.degree.-500.degree. A) in the form of spheres, rods or platelets to the lubricant fluid. This causes a three-dimensional structure to be formed. The three-dimensional netword may be mechanically strengthened by the addition of additives (e.g. sodium carbonate, or hexamethylene diamine).

The inert filler may be organic or inorganic in kind and includes silicates in the form of platelets (clays, micas, etc.) rods, fibres (asbestos), or fine particle silica, e.g. aerosil.

In preparing these gells intensive mixing techniques may be used e.g. ultra-high speed mixers, paint mills, ultrasonic stirring. The gel may also be formed using an acrylic polymer as gelling agent. An acidic emulsion of an acrylic copolymer containing carboxyl groups is added to the lubricant, e.g. ethylene glycol or glycerol, to form a mobile mixture into which puncture sealing solids can be blended. This mixture is neutralised e.g. with ammonia or sodium hydroxide solution to destroy the emulsion so that the acrylic copolymer goes into solution to produce a viscous gel. A suitable gel may also be formed using a polybutene as the lubricant and gelling it with a polyolefine, e.g. polyethylene. Preferably this polybutene gel includes an elastomer soluble in polybutene such as butyl rubber, ethylene-propylene rubber or natural rubber.

In the present invention the lubricant layer has a puncture sealing capability which is sufficient to seal or partially seal a puncture in the tread of the tire against a low pressure, thus providing a low inflation pressure in the tire during deflated running which will reduce the deflection of the tire in this condition and thus reduce heat build-up in the tire.

The tire is preferably a radial ply construction comprising a radial ply carcass and a circumferential tread reinforcement. The tread preferably has a substantially flat profile both externally and internally, the latter being preferred since in a tire with a deeply dished interior profile, the very high centrifugal forces generated in fast running will tend to fling material to the centre of the tread and a very thick coating of the lubricant material is required to "fill the dish" and prevent migration of the coating away from the interior surface of the tyre adjacent the edges of the tire tread. For sufficient stability not to flow around the tire under running conditions and under gravity the gelled lubricant preferably has a viscosity of at least 2000 N sec/M.sup.2 at 20.degree. C.

Preferably the sidewalls of the tire are thickened to reduce their radius of curvature during the deflections suffered in deflated running of the assembly e.g. as described in U.K. Patent Application No. 48,981/73.

The particulate solid puncture sealing material preferably has a density in the range 0.8 to 1.5 gm/cc, a particularly suitable material being rubber crumb and wood flour (sawdust).

It will be appreciated that in the assembly of this invention the puncture sealing layer of gelled lubricant functions to seal punctures in the tread of the tire by virtue of particles of the solid material being carried into a puncture with the gel. For this reason the gel must not, of course, be rigid, but must be capable of some flow and the distribution of particulate material must be even around the tire.

If desired the gelled lubricant may also contain a volatile liquid, such as water, which will generate a vapour pressure in the tire after puncture sealing during deflated running.

The invention will now be described in more detail by means of the following examples.

EXAMPLE 1

Gel PSG 32 was prepared by mixing the following ingredients in the order given:

______________________________________ Gel B . 308/2 (a) 80 gms Water 60 gms Gel 3 (b) 60 gms 10 mesh rubber crumb 160 gms 360 gms of which:- (a) Gel B . 308/2 was a gel made up as follows:- Ucon 50 HB - 2000 Y3 Y24 318 K gms Water 7 K gms Aerosil 300 30 K gms Sodium Chloride 42 gms and (b) Gel 3 was a gel made up as follows:- Acrylic emulsion Texicryl 13-1300 37.5 gms Water 157.3 gms .880 ammonia 2.6 5.2 gms Water 2.6 200.0 gms ______________________________________

Four equally spaced holes were drilled in the centre crown of a 155/65-310 radial ply failsafe tire to give, as close as possible, a leak rate of 50 ccs of air per second at a tire pressure of 5 psi. The holes were plugged with 11/2" round nails and the 360 gms of gel PSG 32 uniformly coated round the crown of the tire. The tire was then fitted to its rim, inflated and fitted on a 1275 GT Mini car and driven for 90 miles at speeds up to 70 mph to smoothen out the gel and move it into a position of edquilibrium. Immediately after the drive the wheel was removed from the car and balanced, after two hous the balance was checked and showed that there was no movement of the gel in the stationary tire. The wheel was refitted to the car and taken to the test road where one nail was removed from the tire and the car immediately accelerated up to 50 mph and driven at this speed for 1.6 miles when it was stopped and the puncture tested. It was found to have sealed completely with the tire pressure remaining greater than 15 psi. The car was then driven for a further 5.8 miles and the puncture again tested. No leak was detected. A second nail was removed and the above series of tests repeated. The result was the same as the first test with the puncture sealing within 1.6 miles. The third and fourth nails were removed with the same result. At the end of the series of tests the tire pressure had fallen to 15 psi.

Gel PSG 49 was prepared by mixing the following ingredients in the order given:

______________________________________ Castor Oil 115.5 gms with heat Gelled Castor Oil 26.7 gms Antioxidant 0.9 gms Water 35.5 gms Bactericide 0.4 gms 10 mesh rubber crumb 142.0 gms 40 mesh rubber crumb 35.5 gms Aerosil 300 3.5 gms 360.0 gms ______________________________________

As in Example 1 a 155/65-310 tire was prepared with four equally spaced 50 cc/sec holes in the centre crown.

Additionally the drop in pressure through one hole was measured as follows:

______________________________________ Time Pressure ______________________________________ 0 25 psi 15 secs 20 psi 30 secs 15 psi 45 secs 11 psi 1 min 8 psi 2 mins less than 2 ______________________________________

The holes were plugged with 11/2" round nails, the gel coated round the crown of the tire and run on the road to smooth out the gel as described in Example 1. The wheel was removed from the car and put in an oven for two hours at 100.degree. C. to simuate the effect of a low bake oven on the tire and gel.

At the end of the period in the oven the tire was removed from the rim and the gel inspected. The heat had no visible effect on the gel and the tire was re-fitted to the rim and road tested with the following results:

______________________________________ Test Miles at 50 mph Tire Pressure ______________________________________ -- 0 241/2 psi Nail A Removed 1.7 21 psi -- 7.5 211/2 psi Nail B Removed 1.7 11 psi -- 7.5 121/4 psi Nail C Removed 1.7 33/4 psi -- 7.5 41/2 psi Car stationary. Tire allowed to cool for 15 minutes 3 psi Nail D Removed 0 0 psi 1.7 2 psi 6.0 2 psi 13.6 31/4 psi 21.0 31/2 psi ______________________________________

Thus even when nail D had been removed and the pressure allowed to fall to zero, after driving for 1.7 miles the puncture had sealed and the pressure in the tire had risen to 2 psi and eventually to 31/2 psi after 21 miles.

EXAMPLE 3

Gel PSG 51 was prepared by mixing the following ingredients in the order given:

______________________________________ Ethanediol 150 gms Viscalex HV . 30 (an emulsion 25 gms of carboxylated acrylic copolymer manufactured by Allied Colloids Limited) Water 25 gms 10 mesh rubber crumb 125 gms 40 mesh rubber crumb 25 gms 880 ammonia 5 10 gms Water 5 360 gms ______________________________________

The Viscalex HV-30 and water were added to the ethanediol to form a mobile mixture to which the rubber crumb puncture sealing solids are added. The mixture was then neutralised with ammonia solution to destroy the emulsion causing the acrylic copolymer to go into solution to form the gel.

The 360 gms of gel was uniformly coated in a 155/65-310 tire with four equally spaced 50 cc/sec holes in the centre crown as described in the previous Examples and run on the road for 33 miles at speeds up to 70 mph to smooth out the gel. The nail plugs were then removed in turn as described in the previous Examples with the following results:

______________________________________ Test Miles at 50 mph Tire Pressure ______________________________________ -- 0 30 psi Nail A Removed 1.7 28 psi Nail C Removed 2.0 27 psi Nail D Removed Tire allowed to 0 psi fully deflate before driving off 2.5 21/2 psi 6.0 31/2 psi ______________________________________ Note:? .sup.a During this test the road was wet but it was not raining at the time. .sup.b Nail B could not be removed.

The wheel was removed from the car, re-inflated to 25 psi and put in an oven for two hours at 100.degree. C. After it had cooled it was put back on the car and re-tested on the road with the following results:

______________________________________ Test Miles at 50 mph Tire Pressure ______________________________________ -- 0 26 psi Nail A Removed 1.7 211/2 psi -- 7.5 221/2 psi Nail C Removed 1.7 12 psi -- 7.5 13 psi Nail D Removed Tire allowed to 0 psi fully deflate before driving off 1.7 13/4 psi 6.0 21/2 psi ______________________________________

Thus this experiment repeated the results of the previous experiments showing that a wide variety of gels can be made to successfully seal punctures. Also a tire which has fully deflated through a puncture on a stationary car will readily generate pressure on driving off.

EXAMPLE 4

Three carboxylated acrylic copolymer gels using glycerol and diethylene glycol as the lubricant, were prepared by mixing the ingredients in the order given in a similar manner to that used in the preparation of Gel PSG 51 in Example 3

______________________________________ (A) Glycerol 80 gms Viscalex HV . 30 6 gms 10 mesh rubber crumb 35 gms 40 mesh rubber crumb 7 gms 370 sodium hydroxide solution 12 gms 140 gms (B) Diethylene Glycol (Digol) 80 gms Viscalex HV . 30 22 gms Water 10 gms 20 mesh rubber crumb 30 gms 40 mesh rubber crumb 6 gms .880 ammonia solution 2.5 gms Ucon 50 HB 260 (defoaming agent) 2 gms 152.5 gms (C) Glycerol 80 gms Viscalex HV . 30 7.5 gms Water 7.15 gms Ucon 50 HB 260 10 gms 20 mesh crumb 40 gms 40 mesh crumb 8 gms 3% sodium hydroxide solution 14 gms 166.3 gms ______________________________________

The Ucon 50-HB-;b 260 was added to improve the lubricity of the gel and its sprayability when applied to the tire by a spray process.

EXAMPLE 5

The inner crown of a current 155/65-310 failsafe radial ply tire is slightly dished. The gelled lubricant moves under the high radial forces in the rotating tire to form a pool of gel in the dished crown, the centre of which is substantially deeper than the edges. Clearly then the width of the gel across the crown is dependent on the volume of gel in the tire and the shape of the surface of the inner crown.

The following experiment to determine the effective puncture sealing width of the gel was conducted with a standard production 155/65-330 failsafe tire. Six equally spaced standard size punctures were put into the tread ribs as follows:

______________________________________ Puncture A 20 mm from tread centre - left hand side B 371/2 mm tread centre - left hand side C 50 mm from tread centre - left hand side D 20 mm from tread centre - right hand side E 371/2 mm from tread centre - left hand side F 50 mm from tread centre - left hand side ______________________________________

The tire was fitted to a rim and the puncture rates recorded as follows, 11/2" round nails being used to plug as necessary.

______________________________________ Time A B C D E F ______________________________________ 0 30 psi 30 psi 30 psi 30 psi 30 psi 30 psi 15 secs 281/2 psi 281/2 psi 29 psi 271/2 psi 29 psi 281/2 psi 30 secs 27 psi 271/2 psi 271/2 psi 26 psi 28 psi 27 psi 34 secs 251/2 psi 261/2 psi 261/4 psi 24 psi 271/4 psi 251/2 psi 1 min 24 psi 25 psi 25 psi 22 psi 261/4 psi 24 psi 2 mins 191/2 psi 21 psi 21 psi 16 psi 23 psi 191/4 psi 4 mins 111/2 psi 14 psi not 7 psi 18 psi 111/2 psi 8 mins 4 psi 51/2 psi measured 0 psi 11 psi 31/2 psi ______________________________________

The tire was removed from the rim and with all the holes plugged by 11/2" round nails the inner centre crown was uniformly coated with 400 gms of Gel PSG 55 formulated as follows:

______________________________________ Ethanediol 165.0 gms Viscolex HV . 30 27.5 gms Water 33.0 gms 10 mesh crumb 137.5 gms 40 mesh crumb 27.5 gms 880 ammonia 5.5 11.0 gms Water 5.5 401.5 gms ______________________________________

It was re-fitted to the rim, inflated to 25 psi and driven on the road for 55 miles at speeds up to 70 mph to smooth out the gel. The nail plugs were then removed in turn as described in the previous examples with the following results:

______________________________________ Test Miles at 50 mph Tire Pressure ______________________________________ -- 0 23 psi Nail A Removed 1.7 21 psi -- 7.5 20 psi Nail D Removed 1.7 19 psi -- 7.5 19 psi Nail B Removed 1.7 18 psi -- 7.5 18 psi Nail E Removed 1.7 17 psi -- 7.5 18 psi Nail C Removed 1.7 10 psi 7.5 5 psi 25.5 31/2 psi Car stationary and 0 psi tire allowed to cool for 15 minutes 33.0 2 psi 35.4 11/2 psi Car stationary and 0 psi tire allowed to cool for 1 hour 48.4 11/4 psi 65.2 11/4 psi 82.0 1 psi 85.8 1/2 psi 91.7 0 psi ______________________________________

The wheel and tire was removed from the car and reinflated to 30 psi with nails A, D, B, E and C still removed from the tire and these punctures tested for leaks. Only puncture C was leaking air, the other punctures i.e. two at 20 mm and two at 371/2 mm from the tread centre had sealed against the full 30 psi tire pressure.

The leak rate of puncture C (50 mm from the tread centre) was measured as follows:

______________________________________ Time Pressure ______________________________________ 0 30 psi 15 secs 291/2 psi 30 secs 29 psi 45 secs 281/2 psi 1 min 28 psi 2 mins 26 psi 4 mins 223/4 psi 8 mins 171/2 psi 15 mins 103/4 psi 30 mins 6 psi ______________________________________

Comparing this with the original leak rate of puncture C it is seen that there was a considerable reduction in leak rate. This was probably due to the way in which the holes were made in the tire by burning them through with white-hot wire. This would undoubtedly leave the hole lined with degraded rubber which, it is easy to visualise, could partly seal the hole as it was constantly flexed and squeezed by the flat tread and breaker. Nevertheless this does not detract from the fact that after the tire was allowed to cool and go quite flat it was possible to generate a pressure of more than 1 psi for more than 30 miles at 50 mph relying solely on water vapour and hot air generation. The indications are that had the tire been allowed to cool for a time and regenerate itself with cold air a further similar mileage could have been recorded and this with an unsealed puncture. This could not be checked because of severe secondary damage in the inner sidewall caused by nail F.

EXAMPLE 6

Gel PSG 60B was prepared by mixing the following ingredients in the order given:

______________________________________ Gel B.308/2 100 gms Water 5 gms 10 mesh rubber crumb 50 gms 40 mesh rubber crumb 10 gms 165 gms ______________________________________

The 155/65-310 tire used in Examples 1, 2 and 3, was cleaned out and the holes plugged with 11/2" nails. 360 gms of Gel PSG 60B was uniformly coated round the crown of the tire which was then fitted to a rim inflated to 25 psi and run on a drum for 30 minutes at 70 mph to smooth out the gel and move it into a position of equilibrium. The tire was then aged for 3 days in an oven controlled at 70.degree. C. before fitting to a car and road testing with the following results:

______________________________________ Test Miles at 50 mph Tire Pressure ______________________________________ -- 0 26 psi Nail A Removed Delay of approx. 15 seconds due to road traffic then 1.7 3 psi 14.0 31/4 psi Tire reinflated to 25 psi. Puncture A -- 0 19 psi Nail B Removed 1.7 61/2 psi -- 7.5 63/4 psi Nail D Removed 1.7 31/2 psi 6.0 31/2 psi ______________________________________

The leak rates of the punctures seemed to have increased since Example 1. Puncture A was measured as follows:

______________________________________ Time Pressure ______________________________________ 0 30 psi 15 secs 14 psi 30 secs 6 psi 45 secs 2 psi ______________________________________

Comparing this with the leak rate measured in Example 2 it will be seen that the observations were confirmed.

Thus Gel PSG 60B even after ageing for three days at 70.degree. C. efficiently sealed three test punctures with a leak rate greater than 90-95% of all naturally occurring tire punctures.

In the foregoing examples the particle size distribution of rubber crumb used was as follows:

______________________________________ (a) 10 mesh Retained on 7 mesh B.S. screen (aperture 2.36 mm) 1% max Passing 7 mesh, retained on 10 mesh (aperture 1.70 mm) 25% max Passing 10 mesh, retained on 14 mesh (aperture 1.18 mm) 20-50% Passing 14 mesh, retained on 18 mesh (aperture 850 microns) 5.25% Passing 18 mesh, retained on 22 mesh (aperture 710 microns) 5-15% Passing 22 mesh, retained on 36 mesh (aperture 425 microns) 5-25% Passing 36 mesh 5-20% (b) 40 mesh Retained on 420 micron sieve 1% max Passing 420 micron retained on 250 micron aperture sieve 40-60% Passing 250 micron retained on 180 micron aperture sieve 20-30% Passing 180 micron retained on 150 micron aperture sieve 5-15% Passing 150 10-20% ______________________________________

In the gel used in Example 5 above 131 gms of rubber crumb of density 1.18 gm/ml were used in 360 gms of gel/crumb mix of density 1.104 gm/ml. The internal surface area of the tire coated was approximately 110 mm wide, the total surface area coated being 161,200 mm.sup.2.

Thus, in this Example, the rubber crumb made up 34.1% by volume of the gel/crumb mix and there were 0.689 mm.sup.3 of crumb in the tire per mm.sup.2 of tire surface area coated.

Tests have shown that below a certain ratio of rubber crumb to gel the efficiency of the sealant is reduced to an unacceptable level. Using a standard test puncture consisting of a clean hole burned through the tread region of a tire having an air leak rate of 50 ccs/sec at 5 psi tire pressure, our tests show that the ratio of rubber crumb to gel medium should not be less than the following to ensure efficient puncture sealing with a 3 mm thick puncture sealing layer at the tire crown in a 155/65-310 failsafe tire.

______________________________________ Gel B.308/2 118 gms 10 mesh rubber crumb 12.3 gms 40 mesh rubber crumb 1.46 gms Water 5.00 gms 141.00 gms ______________________________________

Overall density of gel/crumb mix=1.08 gm/ml.

In this Example the rubber crumb made up 8.94% by volume per mm.sup.2 of tire surface area in the tire. It will be appreciated that the last figure is only intended as a broad guide since the actual distribution of the coating, which is thicker in the centre crown region, means that there will be a lower actual ratio of crumb volume to tire surface area beneath the tread edges.

EXAMPLE 7

A gelled polybutene sealant composition was prepared by mixing the following ingredients:

______________________________________ Hyvis 30 (a polybutene manufactured by B.P. Chemicals Limited) 90 gms AC 6 (loss molecular weight poly- ethylene manufactured by Allied Chemicals Limited) 10 gms 30 mesh rubber crumb 30 gms 130 gms ______________________________________

The Hyvis 30 was heated to about 130.degree. C. and the AC 6 added and stirred until the liquid was clear and mobile. The rubber crumb was then stirred in and stirring continued until the temperature had fallen to below 100.degree. C. to ensure that the crumb did not settle out. The composition thus made was tested and found to be stable on a vertical aluminium surface at temperatures up to 98.degree. C. after which it began to slump and eventually, at a temperature of 103.degree. C., to flow freely. At a temperature of about 120.degree. C. the composition was fluid and mobile, similar to a water slurry, and continuous stirring was necessary to ensure that the crumb did not settle out. A spray test showed that provided the composition was maintained at 120.degree. C. and the spray gun was heated to about 110.degree. C. the composition could readily be sprayed onto the inner layer of a tire.

A puncture sealing experiment was then carried out using a 155/65-310 radial ply failsafe tire.

Four equally spaced punctures were burned in the centre rib of the tire with red-hot wire and the leak rate of each puncture measured by inflating the tire to 30 psi and noting the loss of pressure with time as follows:

______________________________________ Pressure psi Time Puncture A Puncture B Puncture C Puncture D ______________________________________ 0 30 30 30 30 15 secs 281/2 281/4 251/2 23 30 secs 271/4 27 211/2 181/2 45 secs 251/2 26 181/2 15 1 min 241/4 25 151/2 12 2 mins 201/4 21 71/4 43/4 3 mins 17 18 3 11/4 4 mins 133/4 15 1 1 5 mins 111/2 123/4 6 mins 9 11 8 mins 6 71/2 10 mins 4 51/4 12 mins 21/4 31/2 14 mins 11/4 21/4 16 mins 1 11/2 18 mins 1 ______________________________________

300 gms of the above gelled polybutane sealant composition was heated to 130.degree. C. and hot sprayed onto the inner crown and shoulder of the tire in a uniform coating 2 mm thick. At 130.degree. C. the composition was very fluid and sprayed without difficulty through a conventional air spray gun but below 100.degree. C. it gelled to a stiff stable coating on the tire. The composition has probably cooled and gelled immediately after being atomised by the spray gun but this was not important because the thicky nature of the gelled composition enabled a coherent coating to be built up on the tire inner crown and shoulder.

In order to plug the punctures in the tire and simulate puncturing objects ordinary 11/2" round wire nails were inserted into the punctures. The tire was then fitted to a rim and with the internal pressure set at 5 psi each nail was removed in turn and the punctures tested with a soap solution to see if the mere act of removing the nail would draw the puncture sealant into the hole and seal the puncture. In fact none of the four punctures sealed even at this low pressure.

The nails were re-inserted into the tire to plug the puncture and with the internal pressure set at 30 psi the wheel was run on a drum for 15 minutes at a speed of 60 mph under a nominal load. Tests were then carried out on the punctures as follows:

(a) the tire pressure was reduced to 5 psi and the nail was removed from puncture A--the puncture did not seal. The wheel was then run for a further 5 minutes at a speed of 50 mph after which it was found that the puncture had sealed with the pressure at 3 psi. The tire was re-inflated to 26 psi and the puncture remained sealed.

(b) with the tire pressure at 26 psi the nail was removed from picture B--the puncture did not seal. The wheel was then run for a further 5 minutes at a speed of 50 mph after which it was found that the puncture had sealed with the pressure at 23 psi. The tire pressure was increased to 35 psi and both punctures A and B remained sealed.

(c) with the tire pressure at 30 psi the nail was removed from puncture C--the puncture did not seal. The wheel was then run for a further 5 minutes at a speed of 50 mph after which it was found that the puncture has sealed with the pressure at 4 psi. The tire was re-inflated to 28 psi and the puncture remained sealed for approximately one minute when the seal broke. Puncture C was re-plugged with a nail.

(d) with the tire pressure at 26 psi the nail was removed from puncture D--the puncture did not seal. The wheel was then run for a further 5 minutes at a speed of 50 mph after which it was found that the puncture had sealed at 8 psi. The test was concluded at this point. Five hours later the tire pressure remained at 8 psi.

It will be appreciated from this test that rotation of the wheel was necessary to move the sealant composition into the puncture.

EXAMPLE 8

Gel PSG 132 was prepared by mixing the following ingredients in the order given by simple stirring at ambient temperature.

______________________________________ Parts by weight ______________________________________ Hyvis 10 (a polybutene manufactured by B.P. Chemicals Limited) 94 Aerosil 300 (Silica) 6 Triethylamine 1 20 mesh rubber crumb 35 136 ______________________________________

The mixture was heated to 120.degree. C. and 350 gms uniformly sprayed into the inner crown region of a 155/65-310 radial ply failsafe tire. Although the mixture was stable against vertical flow for temperatures up to at least 150.degree. C. the effect of heating it to 120.degree. C. was to soften it and may spray application to the tire easier and more satisfactory from the point of view of directing the spray and making the application more uniform.

The tire was then mounted on a wheel and subjected to a machine test at 80 mph at 500 lbs load after which the balance and uniformity of the tire was found to be materially unaffected and the gel quite stable.

Additionally samples of the mixture were tested

(a) In an oven at 80.degree. C. when the mixture was unchanged after a period of two weeks.

(b) In an oven at 120.degree. C. when no vertical flow of the mixture occurred after a period of 24 hours.

(c) In a centrifuge, diameter 19 inches and speed 3000 rpm when insignificant separation of the mixture was noted after a period of 8 hours. In this test the temperature attained 45.degree. C. within the centrifuge.

EXAMPLE 9

Gel PSG 133 was prepared by mixing the following ingredients in the order given by simple stirring at 130.degree. C.:

______________________________________ Parts by weight ______________________________________ Hyvis 10 (a polybutene manufactured by B.P. Chemicals Limited) 85 AC 8 (A low density polyethylene manufactured by Allied Chemicals 9 Limited) 94 ______________________________________

When the polyethylene dissolved the following were added:

______________________________________ Aerosil 300 (Silica) 6 20 mesh rubber crumb 35 135 ______________________________________

The mixture was allowed to cool. Later it was reheated to 120.degree. C. and 350 gms uniformly sprayed into the inner crown of a 155/65-310 radial ply failsafe tire.

EXAMPLE 10

Gel PSG 141 was prepared by mixing the following ingredients in the order given by simple stirring at 130.degree. C.

______________________________________ Hyvis 10 92 parts by weight AC 8 6 parts by weight ______________________________________

When the polyethylene dissolved 4 parts by weight Aerosil 300 (Silica) and 35 parts by weight 20 mesh wood flour were added.

300 gms of this gel were hot sprayed onto the inner crown of a 155/65-310 radial ply failsafe tire.

The addition of the fine particle silica (Aerosil 300) increased the viscosity of the composition so that even at a temperature of 130.degree. C. it did not slump on the vertical face of a glass beaker. On the other hand the viscosity at 130.degree. C. was sufficiently low to enable the composition to be readily sprayed onto the inner crown or tread region of a tire.

The combination of the fibrous wood flour and granular rubber crumb was found to be a very satisfactory puncture sealant without inhibiting the sprayability of the heated composition.

When tested in the tire it was found that at low temperatures, 10.degree. C.-20.degree. C., the viscosity of the composition was too great for it to flow into the puncture at 50 mph vehicle speed, but as the tire pressure dropped the tire rapidly warmed up and reduced the viscosity of the composition to a level such that it could flow into the puncture and seal it. For instance in one example a standard puncture was made in a cold tire with the pressure set at 25 psi (cold here means an ambient temperature of 20.degree. C.). The puncture did not seal when the tire was driven at 50 mph. As the pressure dropped the tire temperature rose and eventually the puncture sealed at a tire pressure of 171/2 psi. The temperature of the tire had by then risen to 45.degree. C. From then on three further standard punctures in the same tire sealed with a maximum loss of pressure of 1 psi, i.e. the tire was set at 25 psi before each puncture was made and the pressure in the tire after it had sealed was 24, 241/2 and 241/2 psi respectively.

EXAMPLE 11

Gel PSG 175 consisting of the following ingredients:

______________________________________ Parts by weight ______________________________________ Hyvis 10 (a polybutene manufactured by B.P. Chemicals Limited) 94 Rigidex 140/60 (a high density polyethylene manufactured by B.P. Chemicals Limited) 2 AC8 (a low density polyethylene manufactured by Allied Chemicals Limited) 4 Polysar 301 (butyl rubber) 2 20 mesh rubber crumb 50 150 ______________________________________

was prepared by dissolving the Rigidex 140/60, AC8 and butyl rubber as a 33% solution in polybutene by stirring at 180.degree.-190.degree. C. The rubber crumb was then added to the hot solution and stirred while maintaining the temperature above 140.degree. C.

350 gms of this mixture was hot sprayed at 140.degree.-150.degree. C. onto the inner liner of a 155/65-310 tire to cover the tread area to a depth of 2-3 mm and when tested was found to adequately seal standard test punctures.

A tire in accordance with the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing which shows in section, a failsafe tire mounted on a wheel rim.

The drawing shows a radial ply tire 1 having a tread portion 4 braced by a breaker assembly 2. The interior of the tread portion 4 has a coating 5 of a gelled lubricant containing a puncture sealing solid material. The tire is mounted on a two-piece wheel rim 6.

Claims

1. A pneumatic tire capable of running to a useful extent even when deflated, said tire being a tubeless, radial ply tire with a tread reinforcement, being mounted in a wheel rim, having a tire aspect ratio between 30% and 75%, the tread portion of said tire having a width greater than the width between the bead heels, the improvement comprising a coating of a lubricating material disposed on at least the interior surface of the tread to facilitate relative movement between contacting portions of the interior surface of the tire when the tire is driven deflated, said coating not being capable of flowing away from the portion of the interior surface to which it is applied either under gravity or under the forces generated inside a tire during inflated running, said coating comprising a gelled non-volatile lubricant having mixed intimately therein a particulate solid puncture sealing material in an amount of at least 0.15 mm.sup.3 per mm.sup.2 of tire interior surface coated, the particles of said material being of sizes distributed in a range extending from particles passing through a 7 mesh B.S. screen and retained on a 10 mesh B.S. screen to particles which will pass through a 150 micron aperture sieve, the volume of particulate solid material being at least 8% and no more than 66% of the total volume of said coating, said lubricant comprising a polybutene and a gelling agent comprising polyethylene.

2. A tire as claimed in claim 1 including an elastomer soluble in said polybutene.

3. A tire as claimed in claim 2 in which the elastomer is butyl rubber, ethylene-propylene rubber or natural rubber.

4. A tire as claimed in claim 1 in which the gelled lubricant has a viscosity between 2000 and 15000 N sec/M.sup.2 at a shear rate of 0.3 sec.sup.-1 and a temperature of 20.degree. C.

5. A tire as claimed in claim 1 in which the particulate solid puncture sealing material has a density in the range 0.8 to 1.5 gms per cc.

6. A tire as claimed in claim 5 in which the particulate solid puncture sealing material comprises rubber crumb and/or wood flour.

7. A tire as claimed in claim 1 in which the gelled lubricant contains a volatile liquid which volatilises to generate a vapour pressure in the tyre after puncture sealing during deflated running.

8. A pneumatic tire capable of running to a useful extent even when deflated having a coating of a lubricating material disposed on at least the interior surface of the tread to facilitate relative movement between contacting portions of the interior surface of the tire when the tire is driven deflated, said coating not being capable of flowing away from the portion of the interior surface to which it is applied either under gravity or under the forces generated inside a tire during inflated running, said coating comprising a gelled non-volatile lubricant having mixed intimately therein a particulate solid puncture sealing material in an amount of at least 0.15 mm.sup.3 per mm.sup.2 of tire interior surface coated, the particles of said material being of sizes distributed in a range extending from particles passing through a 7 mesh B.S. screen and retained on a 10 mesh B.S. screen to particles which will pass through a 150 micron aperture sieve, the volume of particulate solid material being at least 8% and no more than 66% of the total volume of said coating, said lubricant comprising a polybutene, said lubricant containing a gelling agent comprising a mixture of a high density polyethylene and a low density polyethylene, said particulate solid puncture sealing material comprising crumb rubber and said lubricant having dissolved therein butyl rubber.